Lord of the Rings Analysis - Good and Evil

Good Will and Ancestral Sin The wars between good and evil are many and come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes they’re obvious and other times they’re masked though they are without a doubt the most familiar battles occurring on earth. In J.R.R. Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Ring, the struggle for power over Middle-Earth and the formation and battle of opposing forces of good and evil is the primary focus in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The main conflicts seen and foreshadowed in FoTR are man versus man, and man versus nature. What is considered good and evil is often subjective in today’s society though general moral guidelines are followed by most; which isn’t to say that Tolkien’s characters are transparent or black and white in their personas. In situations of man versus man war, there is always a victor but there is always tremendous loss in the name of ‘good and evil’ and when nature fights back against man’s abuse, nature will always have the upper hand. In the greatly complex and metaphorical world of LoTR and Middle-Earth, the Fellowship of the Ring introduces the reader to the onset of a struggle and imminent war almost instantly. After Bilbo Baggins’ retirement and Frodo’s inheritance of the Ring of power, he is immediately plunged into a growing world of trouble and delayed conflict against the far-spreading evil of Sauron and his land of Mordor. Frodo is surrounded by a strong company of friends, including Gandalf, a wizard aiding him in his journey. Frodo is troubled and discouraged by his quest and tells Gandalf “I wish it need not have happened in my time," "So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” The world will be at war and all sentient beings, even often neutral elements of nature will be manipulated or forced into taking sides in the great battle between good and evil. Evil influence